Cigarettes
by caleigh-fornia
Summary: Augustus goes to heaven and meets Alaska Young My first fanfiction. I'd really appreciate constructive criticism!


At first it was black. But then he blinked and he found himself standing on marble.

_How am I standing? _Gus thought. The cancer had taken over his body so he couldn't even support himself. He was timid, also because the ground seemed as if it would fall in on itself.

He slowly lifted his leg and stepped forward. In complete shock, he began crying. He didn't feel any pain in his legs. He had both legs. Augustus began to run. There was so much beauty in the ability to run.

He finally reached a golden gate that was twice his size. As he was inspecting it, he found a speaker and pressed the button. There was a buzz and then a man's voice. "Augustus Waters, we've been expecting you."

The gates opened and Augustus walked past them. It was a city with old houses and a canal in the center. All the buildings were made of gold. He couldn't think of where he recognized it from.

As he wandered, he found a girl staring at him. She was the only other person there. She was hot, but she is what everyone would consider hot. There was nothing that made her special. He figured she would be able to help him.

"Excuse me miss," he started, "but where am I?"

She gave a sly smile and replied, "You're in the afterlife."

Augustus and the girl were sitting on the edge of the canal.

"So, why are you the only one here?" Augustus inquired.

She leaned back and sighed with her beautiful smile. "Think of this as your own personal of heaven. And I'm just here to explain things."

"Why you? I don't even know you. Who are you anyways?"

"My name's Alaska Young. And I guess you could say the big man thought we could relate to each other." She laid down on her back; her feet over the edge of the canals and her arms behind her head.

Gus pondered for a minute before asking, "Did you have cancer, too?"

Alaska sat up again and stared at her reflection. "No. Car crash. There was this guy that I was sort of dating and… Dying while in a relationship is really hard."

Hazel. Gus felt guilty for not remembering her immediately. Tears filled his eyes that then rolled down his face until they fell and rippled his reflection in the water.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alaska asked.

Gus paused for a moment and sighed. "Hazel Grace Lancaster. She had cancer, like me, but my clock ran out first. She was so beautiful. And so smart, much smarter than me. I loved her—"

"And now you don't? Just because you're dead doesn't mean you don't still love her." Alaska began to pat his back.

Augustus was silent. He finally recognized where he was. Amsterdam. Where he and Hazel fell in love. Where they met the shitty Van Houten. Where they made out in the Anne Frank house. If only Hazel was here with him.

Alaska stood up. "I should leave soon. Let you think everything out. Walk me out?"

"Okay." He said. Augustus thought of Hazel. He wondered if she spoke at his funeral, if they even had one. He wondered if Van Houten would write a eulogy for Hazel, since hers was so perfect. He wondered what her heaven would be.

"What's your heaven?" Augustus questioned.

Alaska gave him a strange look "Doesn't matter. I think being alone isn't so heavenly, so I stay with my mom in hers."

"So when Hazel dies, she can stay here with me?" Augustus was overjoyed. He could stay in their city of love forever in the afterlife.

"Yeah, she can. And she might not be too far behind you. Lucky." Alaska looked at her feet and focused on her steps "I spent my whole life trying to die and now that I am, I'll be alone for years."

"You were… trying to die? I would've given anything to live longer."

"I smoked to die. I still do sometimes, although it's useless."

Augustus put his hand in his pocket. He felt a cigarette box. "I would put cigarettes right between my teeth but never light it. Never give it a chance to kill me. A kind of metaphor." They reached the gate and Alaska stood still. "If I have any more questions, will I be able to find you?"

"I'm only a few gates away. I'll be back when you need me." Alaska began to open the gate and looked back at him.

"I'm glad to have met you." Augustus gave his famous crooked smile and pulled out his box of cigarettes. "And hey, do you want a cigarette?"

Alaska smirked before taking one. She turned back and walked forward until she faded away into the light.


End file.
